“I’ll be with Lion and Hawk. I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Call me when you get there.”
Fee smiled up at him as she slipped her arms around his waist. “I will.”
Lion tried not to invade their private moment, but he couldn’t seem to look away. Kelan had no problems showing his affection and need for Fee. That was the one part that worried Lion the most about his next step in life: women.
Kelan brushed his thumb over Fee’s cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you. We’ll be back this afternoon.”
“I’m glad.” He kissed her. Cupping the back of her head in his hand, he leaned his forehead to hers. “I want you to work hard this semester. Knock that shit out so you can come back to me.”
She nodded. “I might take an extra class or two. Maybe, if I take summer classes, I could finish a semester early. Are we calling your parents tonight?”
“Yes.”
Fee ran her hands up his chest. “Are you worried about it?”
“No. I’m looking forward to that.”
“Me too.” She smiled, then caught his face for a kiss. Lion did look away then.
Kelan opened the front passenger door for her. Lion wasn’t certain he ever wanted to fall in love if it felt as awful as Kelan looked.
Lion closed the back hatch as Kelan came over to him and Hawk. “She’s my heart. Guard her as if she were yours.”
Hawk gave him a sympathetic smile. “You know we will.”
Kelan bumped fists with him, then gave Lion a hard glare and shook hands. “Keep your eyes open. We’re not out of the woods.”
But they were, weren’t they? Not only out of the woods but way out in the open, exposed to their enemies.
“I will.”
Fee looked at Kelan’s happy face that evening. She’d only just gotten home, and dinner would be served soon. They had a narrow window to make the call to his parents.
She was too nervous to smile back at him. He’d said plenty of times how happy his parents would be to welcome her to the family, but this was the first time she would actually talk to them herself. What if she heard in their voices a resistance to her that Kelan never heard? What if they weren’t really happy about her and Kelan?
She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “What if—”
“No more what-ifs,” Kelan said. “We’re already a couple. This is just a formality. They cannot break us apart because we’re already united.”
“Right. But what if—”
Kelan raised his brows, his thumb hovering over the digits on his phone.
Fee bit her lips. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.” She clenched her teeth and winced.
He grinned and shook his head as he dialed his parents. The call was on speaker, so Fee heard it ring. Maybe they wouldn’t be home. Maybe—
“Hi, honey.”
“Hi, Mom. How’s everything going?”
“Great. And you?”
Fee heard the full question his mom didn’t speak.
“Super. Is Dad around?”
“He’s right here.”
“Then put me on speaker. Fiona and I have some news.”
“Oh?”
“Hi, son,” his dad said.
“Is she there with you?” his mom asked.
“I’m here. Hi.” Fee shot Kelan a glance. He grinned at her.
“Hi, sweetheart,” his mom said. “I can’t wait to meet you. Any woman who captured my son’s heart has to be a rare angel.”
Fiona laughed nervously. “I’m no angel.” God, couldn’t she have said something—anything—else?
“Yes, she is,” Kelan said. If Fee didn’t know better, she’d think he was enjoying her fit of nerves.
“So have you set a date yet?” his dad asked.
“Honey, don’t jump ahead. This is their news to tell.”
“As a matter of fact, that’s what we were calling about. Fiona and I would like to have our wedding sometime this spring. Any dates bad for you?”
“Are you coming home for the wedding, son?” his mom asked.
“No. We’re having it here.”
“Hold on. Let me check the calendar.”
“Mom’s checking,” his dad said, “but you know it doesn’t matter. Anything she has planned, she’ll reschedule.”
“We’re flexible,” Fiona said. “She doesn’t have to redo anything.”
“Not true, hon. She’s been asking me every day when we were going to get this call. She’s over the moon.”
“Is she?” Fee asked.
“Yup. Kelan doesn’t take these things lightly. When he chose you, we knew he’d found the right one.”
“But you haven’t even met me yet.” Fee’s eyes were watering.
Kelan hugged her and whispered, “Told you.”
“We love our son,” his mom said. “And if he loves you, then we do too.”
“I’m really looking forward to meeting you both,” Fee said.
“I can’t wait. My calendar doesn’t have anything written in stone—” his mom said as she came back to the phone.
“Told you,” his dad interjected.
“I would just like for you two to consider having it here,” his mom said. “Everyone would love to witness your wedding, and it just isn’t feasible to have them all travel out to you. Just something to think about.”
“We’ll consider it, Mom. After we pick a date, I’ll have Fiona get in touch with you to work everything out.”
“Sounds great. Oh, honey, I am so happy for you. I know your brothers will be too. And I finally get to have a daughter!”
“Thanks. I appreciate the warm welcome,” Fee said.
“We’re here for you kids. Let us know what you decide,” Kelan’s dad said before ending the call.
When Kelan put his phone down, Fee gave a little scream and jumped into his arms. “I love them. They are so sweet.”
He caught her up close and kissed her. “So you’re not afraid of them anymore?”
“No. Well, maybe a little. But more excited than scared.”
“Good. I’ll talk to Kit and see what he thinks about my scheduling a couple of weeks off this spring. Maybe we time it with your spring break. Or we can wait until school’s out in May and do it then.”
“That might be best. It’ll still be spring. That’ll give me and your mom plenty of time to do our planning.”
“What do you think about going out there for the wedding?”
“I love that idea, but what about everyone here? I don’t want them to miss it. With the babies coming, Ivy and Mandy may not be able to travel yet, so Kit and Rocco are probably out.”
“That could free up the rest to come—having someone here to man the fort. We can’t all go. We’ll talk about it. Really, it just depends on how steady everything here is—and that we won’t know until much closer to our date.”
5
Owen came upstairs from the bunker when Greer alerted him that his dad and Jax had just parked out front. He opened the door just before they rang the doorbell. He shook hands with both of them, feeling that invisible wall click into place.
Jim joined them in the foyer, a fresh dishtowel slung over his shoulder. “Nick, Jax, glad you made it.”
“Jim. Good seeing you!” Jax gripped his hand then pulled him close to bump shoulders. “I meant to tell you last time that there’s a spot on my team if Owen’s ever an asshole to you.”
“Thanks, but I’m more worried about Russ than Owen.” Jim chuckled. “Your rooms are ready. I can take your things up, if you like.”
“Sure. Thanks,” Nick said as they handed Jim their bags.
Owen shoved his hands in his front jeans pockets as he faced his dad and friend. He wished—relentlessly—that things had been different with them. Normal, even, if such a thing existed.
It was foolish to spend any energy on that. They had to go from where they were currently, as he’d reminded Addy.
Owen broke the a
wkward silence. “So. You want some time to settle in?”
“We can do that later,” Jax said. “I want to see my sister.”
Owen heard someone running toward them down the hallway leading from his and Addy’s suite.
“Wendelly! You made it!” Addy gave her brother a big hug. This could have been any of so many homecomings he and Jax had made when they visited the senator’s house.
Jax set her down then held her shoulders while he stared into her eyes. “So this is really happening?”
Addy laughed and nodded. “At last.” She gave Nick a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you were both able to make it.” She stepped back and slipped her arm around Owen’s waist. He set his around her shoulders.
“I’m happy for you both,” Nick said. “It’s about time that you get to have your own lives and your own joy.” He looked around. “Now where are my grandboys? I brought them some gifts.”
“At school,” Addy said. “They won’t be home until later this afternoon. Are you hungry? Can I make you something to eat?”
“No. We’re good, sis. Thanks,” Jax said.
She gestured toward the living room. “Then come have a seat.” She sent Owen a quick look. “Unless you guys need to have a meeting?”
“Nope.” Owen smiled at her. “This is your weekend. No business.” He looked at his dad and her brother. “Or not much, anyway. We’ll meet later.”
“Good. Then let’s catch up.” Addy sat on the sofa. “I hoped you might bring the Ratcliffs back with you.”
Jax shook his head. “That didn’t work out.”
“Oh.” Addy sent Owen a disappointed look.
He squeezed her hand, hoping she wouldn’t force the issue.
“So what’s the plan for the weekend?” Jax asked.
“I can’t wait to show you the gym,” Addy said. “Everything’s set up. The wedding planners completely transformed it. The flowers are being delivered today. Tomorrow we’ll have our rehearsal dinner, then the wedding’s Saturday.”
“Russ is a little ticked off that his kitchen has been overtaken.” Owen smiled at Jax. They’d both run missions with Jim and Russ. Picturing them in a domestic setting was still an adjustment, but given they wanted to open their own B&B, this was a great step for them.
“Still has control issues, huh?”
“Big ones,” Owen said.
“The repairs to your house are finished, Addy,” Jax said.
Addy looked shocked. “You fixed it? Why didn’t you tear it down? Or donate it to the local fire department for training?”
“Because it’s yours. It’s too valuable to trash.”
“I will never go there again.”
Owen leaned back and drew her close. Everything she’d experienced was still too close to the surface. “You know, Kelan has a shaman he could recommend to clear the place. He brought him here just before Blade’s wedding. I don’t buy in to all that, but both Blade and Kelan said it felt better here afterwards.”
Addy folded her legs against his thigh. Her blue eyes were big as she looked up at him. “Doesn’t matter. I’m never going there again. It can rot and crumble for all I care.”
Owen nodded. “Then that’s how it is. I would never make you do anything you don’t want. Tell my dad about the boys and school.”
The redirect worked. She told him all the things the boys had shared about their first days at their new school. Owen met Jax’s gaze over her head.
He knew that look. Jax had a lot going on. Owen had every intention of discovering exactly what he was up to.
When Owen stepped into the den that afternoon, Nick was sitting in one of the armchairs.
Owen leaned against the edge of Blade’s desk and gave him a nod. “Dad.”
Nick returned the nod, studying Owen’s face.
“Where’s Jax?” Owen asked.
“Here somewhere. I told him you and I needed some time.” He left his armchair and wandered over to the French doors.
For a long moment, Nick didn’t say anything. Owen would have broken the silence if he’d known how. But where did you start when there was so much ground to cover and you didn’t want a single moment missed?
“Where do we begin?” Nick asked, still facing the patio doors.
“I guess it doesn’t matter, as long as we begin—and as long as we each get our questions answered.”
His dad turned around. They both had the same pale blue eyes. It was like looking in a mirror. Really, Nick seemed more like a slightly older brother than a progenitor. Owen had grown to adulthood without the benefit of his presence or influence, and didn’t know where he stood or what they really were to each other now.
“You and Jax left so soon after Thanksgiving—we never had the chance to talk,” Owen said.
“We had to get the Ratcliffs to safety.”
“They were safe here.”
“No, they weren’t. Not even then, before Bastion had come prowling around.”
“What do you know that I don’t?”
“A lot.”
“Did you know Jason was the monster he turned out to be?”
“Not at first. Not before you’d already left his household.”
“And yet you told me to keep Val safe.”
“I knew there was discord between Jason and his son, but in the bigger picture, I thought I was putting you out of reach of the Omnis. Jason had never been involved in the training I’d undergone.”
“You never meant to see me again, did you?” Owen asked.
Nick shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned a shoulder against the patio doors. “I honestly didn’t expect to live. And then years passed. I thought it was too late to reconnect with you. I did what I could for you behind the scenes—getting you into West Point, getting you into the Red Team.”
“Were you involved with setting up the Red Team with Henry and Senator Jacobs?”
“No. I surfaced about the time they were hatching that plan, intent on helping make it happen. I thought they’d returned to our original charter of fighting the Omnis, but then I learned that they were recruiting sons from the families of resistance members. I had a bad feeling they were gathering their enemies into a single, known spot so they could take them out, and realized I’d gotten you deeper in by advocating for your acceptance into the team.”
“Did you know Jacobs had been flipped by the Omnis and Henry’s allegiances were suspect?”
“Eventually, I did. I also realized that by sending the Red Team overseas to deal with threats that may or may not have been connected to the Omnis, Jacobs had effectively redirected the men who were the most capable of fighting the Omnis here in the U.S. I kept working the channels I had to bring you guys back here.”
“But the Army can’t operate against its own citizens.”
“No, but it can run intelligence ops against foreign agents here in the U.S. Enemy infiltration was the original charter of the Red Team.”
“You’ll forgive me for doubting your claims to innocence. You were part of the original crew, all of whom went bad—except, apparently, you.”
“Believe what you will—”
“I will,” Owen interrupted.
“I did what I thought was in your best interests and those of thousands of other innocent people.”
“By sending me to be raised by the worst of the Omni officers.”
“I didn’t know what he was when I gave you to him. No one did.”
“Tell me, did he know you were still alive?”
“Yes.”
“And did Jacobs?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose Henry did too.”
“He did, but Henry wasn’t bad. He realized Jason was a monster earlier than Jacobs and I did. He started infiltrating the tunnels, learning about the Omnis from the inside out. He tried to counter the oppression by organizing the servants living in the tunnels. When they took his granddaughter, he entered the tunnels full-time, faking his own death so
he could protect her.”
“He was there when Ace was taken.”
Nick’s lips thinned. “Perhaps that’s why she’s still alive.”
Owen didn’t say anything. Time would surface the truth about Nick.
“I feel as if I’ve ruined your life,” Nick said.
Owen gave him a cold smile. “Let me alleviate that concern: you have to be part of someone’s life in order to have a shot at ruining it. As far as I care, you’re someone I’m cautiously interested in having as an ally. I don’t trust you. I may never trust you. You knew about Addy. You knew about Ace.” Owen shrugged. “You could have come forward at any point for any reason, but you didn’t. You took the coward’s road, hiding instead of facing the choices you made. What I don’t understand is why come forward now? Is it because we vanquished your enemies?”
“They aren’t vanquished. Not by any means. You’ve only scraped off the dead weight. What lies beneath is stronger than ever and no longer has the burden of power-hungry leaders to choke them out. You think you’ve contained the threat, but all you did was pull out the weeds.”
Owen was just finishing his nightly walk around Blade’s house, as had been his habit after Bastion’s visits began. Jax had set up a phone conference with the Ratcliffs for the morning. Afterward, work would have to be put aside so he could focus on the wedding. He wanted to spend every minute with Addy that he could; it had been a long time since he’d seen her so happy and excited.
When he circled back to the patio behind the house, Jax was standing there, alone. It was cold outside. Owen was surprised to see him there.
“Something on your mind?” Owen asked as he paused next to his one-time best friend.
“Yeah. Everything.” Jax looked at Owen, then back at the shadowy trees at the edge of the lower lawn. “You ready for your wedding?”
“I am. I’ve been ready for ten years. I’m angry it took so long, and I’m thrilled it’s actually happening.”
“You have to let go of the bad and embrace the good.”
“I’m not quite there yet. Like I’m still pissed at you. And my dad.”
Jax met Owen’s angry eyes—he didn’t say anything, but Owen took it as an opportunity to unload. “Why the fuck didn’t you come to me? After all we’d been through?”
OWEN and ADDY_A RED TEAM WEDDING NOVELLA_THE RED TEAM, BOOK 14 Page 5
